MCAVOY ENJOYS SUMMER IN SPAIN

With each passing year, Ram Nation continues to grow and expand with fans popping up all over the place donning the Black & Gold. Even in Barcelona, Spain.

Rising senior Jennifer McAvoy of the VCU women's track & field team saw it first-hand.

"I was just on the streets in Barcelona wearing some of my VCU gear and some guy comes up and asked if I went to VCU," McAvoy said. "After telling him I did, he yells, "Go Rams!". It was pretty awesome."

The global expansion of Ram Nation wasn't the only thing that McAvoy learned about in Barcelona, spending over two months studying abroad this summer, spending most of her time in Spain.

"I really just wanted to completely immerse myself in the culture and experience as many new things as possible," she said. "I didn't want to hold too many expectations and really embrace everything that I encountered."

The marketing major from Philadelphia, Pa. spent her time in the classroom enrolled in International Marketing and International Business. However, she got just as much as a education outside the classroom.

"Seeing all the unbelievable sights and learning how other cultures live has really been an amazing experience. I couldn't have asked for anything better," she said.

She left shortly after the spring semester, leaving home with her sister, Lindsay, a student at Penn State on the 23rd of May. The pair was in classes until July 25th with excursions offered throughout their time. McAvoy's excursions allowed her to see the sights of Madrid, Valencia and even Rome.

"Being over there and seeing so many beautiful places has made me really appreciate life and put things in perspective," she said. "Walking around and looking at everything around me, all of the spectacular sights were indescribable. I feel like the trip really made me grow up a lot."

The adjustments won't stop for McAvoy as she will return to Richmond with the Black & Gold in a different conference than when she left. She'll compete in the Atlantic 10 in her final year for the Rams, but her mindset entering the year hasn't changed from previous seasons.

"Being in the new conference, I haven't had a chance to check out the competition, but I'd like to place in the top three at the conference meet and do whatever I can to help my team win," she said. "But the bottom line is that every year I set my goals to do better than the previous season. If I give it all I have and improve upon my marks from last year, that's all I can ask for."